DNA evidence has long been hailed as the gold standard of forensic science—unassailable, precise, and definitive. But what happens when that gold standard is processed through proprietary algorithms that operate in secrecy, shielded from scrutiny by trade secrets and alleged technical complexity?
Probabilistic genotyping (“PG”) software promises to unravel ...
The surveillance state has a new tool in its arsenal that takes advantage of advances in AI large language models. Only, this chatbot’s conversations could land people in prison. The product from Massive Blue is called Overwatch, and its purpose is to collect information on “college protestors” and “radicalized political ...
P
olice have long sought tools to monitor and predict criminal activity with precision, and a new system called Spidernet brings that vision closer to reality. Developed by researchers at the University of Portsmouth and University of Winchester, Spidernet is a digital forensics framework designed to track smart device owners, ...
In Arizona, a secretive program has quietly amassed a staggering trove of financial data on tens of millions of Americans and individuals worldwide, all under the guise of fighting crime. The Transaction Record Analysis Center (“TRAC”), operated with oversight from the Arizona Attorney General’s office, has ballooned into a mass ...
by Michael Dean Thompson
In forensic technology, the term “black box” has gained prominence. It describes a system whose inner workings remain opaque—an output emerges, but how it is produced eludes the user. Such black-box algorithms underpin artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools that identify suspects from video footage, guide police patrols ...
by Michael Dean Thompson
Support for the death penalty among Americans has fallen to 53%, its lowest level since 1972, driven primarily by younger generations who are far less likely to favor capital punishment for convicted murderers, according to a Gallup poll.
Gallup’s annual Crime Survey, conducted since 2000, reveals ...
by Michael Dean Thompson
A San Diego-based company called ANOM, often stylized as “ANØM,” distributed encrypted phones worldwide. These devices were stripped down, hardened against intrusion, and designed to allow messaging only between phones on the same closed network. Unbeknownst to users, the FBI intercepted every communication.
The FBI and ...
by Michael Dean Thompson
When the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (“AAFS”) announced its lineup of workshops for a recent conference, Ted Hunt, a senior policy advisor to the FBI’s crime lab, demanded that references to the FBI be removed from two sessions. Hunt also urged AAFS representatives, including its ...
by Michael Dean Thompson
SoundThinking’s ShotSpotter technology, which uses echolocation to alert police and emergency medical services (“EMS”) to potential gunshots detected by microphones across a city, has faced mounting scrutiny. While sales and public relations teams have touted its effectiveness—and, on occasion, been accused of manipulating data to secure ...
by Michael Dean Thompson
It is no secret that digital advertising companies profit handsomely by accessing and exploiting the private information of consumers. What may be surprising, however, is the increasing efficiency with which these companies collect, distribute, and monetize personal data. This information feeds the American surveillance state, making ...
